About Barbi

Image shot by David and Lena Kaptien.

Barbi Powers received her M.F.A. from the University of Washington and her B.F.A from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated high school at the University of North CarolinaSchool of the Arts, majoring first in ballet and then modern dance. Prior to her formal academic career, she trained at the Milwaukee Ballet School in her hometown of Milwaukee. She continued her pursuit of modern dance at the American Dance Festival where she received special mention in the New York Times for her performance in Laura Dean's Tympani in 2008. This dance training and the mentoring instruction from so many wonderful teachers allowed her to pursue a career with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and Alwin Nikolais Dance Theatre where she toured Italy, France, and the Continental U.S. In addition, Barbi has had the opportunity to tour Mexico with Li-Chaio Ping Dance; perform in St. Louis, Dallas, and Chicago with The Radio City Christmas Spectacular as a Rockette; in Milwaukee and New York with The Catey Ott Dance Collective; and at Jacob's Pillow, The Joyce Soho, and Skidmore College with Skybetter and Associates.

 

Scholarships and grants from Future Kicks and Career Transition for Dancers allowed Barbara to transition into teaching where she started by instructing students at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY in yoga and Pilates. At the University of Washington, she taught studio courses for beginning through advanced students in ballet, modern, and jazz. She also taught Introduction to Dance and Anatomy for Dance. She is a certified vinyasa yoga, restorative yoga, Pilates mat, and meditation instructor, and has taught celebrities, individuals and groups throughout New York, Wisconsin, Washington, Utah, as well as workshops abroad.

Barbi's scholarly interests lie in the field of wellness for dancers. Her fieldwork has been selected for presentation at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, the Healthy Dancer Canada Conference, the Future (s) of Dance Education (s): Opportunities and Challenges conference in Trondheilm, Norway and at the University of Washington. She is the co-director of the Art of Wellness Living Learning Community at the University of Georgia and teaches Koru Mindfulness to students.

She is currently teaching Dance Appreciation, Practicing Wellness, Ballet, and Jazz at the University of Georgia.

Education:

M.F.A, University of Washington

B..A., New York University Tisch School of the Arts

Resumes:

Curriculum Vitae

Certifications:

Yoga Certification

Restorative Yoga Certification

Koru Mindfulness Certification

Journey Meditation Certification

Pilates Mat Certification

Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Postural Analysis Certification

NASM Certification